How art, books helped kids in weird year
Meet Red. He is a crayon whose inner self is not reflected in the label he came with. His outside says “Red,” but inside, he knows he is really blue. And when a new friend helps him find the courage to be his true blue self, Red gets to scribble his way to happiness.
Red is the main character of “Red: A Crayon’s Story,” an awardwinning picture book by Michael Hall. Red is also one of the literary heroes of “Art & Lit 2021,” a program that used books and art to help local students celebrate their true selves in a time when no one has felt like celebrating much of anything.
“We were trying to discover ways we could help during the pandemic. We asked a lot of our partners, ‘What are you seeing? How can stories connect us and help us help each other right now?’” said Amanda Bonds, program director for the local literacy organization Words Alive, which paired with fellow nonprofit ArtReach San Diego to bring “Art & Lit 2021” to local students and their families.
“What we heard was that young people are isolated and lonely.
They are feeling out of sorts, and it’s not their fault. None of this was their doing. We were after something to support the mental health of young people during this extraordinary time.”
In pre-pandemic times, Words Alive’s “Art & Lit” program brought guest artists into participating schools and organizations to work with students on projects inspired by the selected books. Since the project started in 2014, students have interpreted literary themes through mediums that
included ink-and-paper art, sculpting, stop-animation and
printmaking.
But 2021 was not a traditional year.
With most schools still holding classes online, Words Alive had to find a new way to keep the “Art & Lit” flame burning. The organization partnered with ArtReach, a 14-year-old nonprofit that inspires young people through visual arts and community connections.
When San Diego’s schools shut down in March 2020, ArtReach pivoted to online classes, as the staff and volunteers found ways to get art supplies to students for